Tackling Wicked Problems

Wicked problems touch every industry and society; poverty, water, health, education, sustainability. This type of problem is very complex, with changing or incomplete requirements, and highly connected with other issues. From a process perspective, there are three key tools to effectively drive action and development when tackling a problem with no right answer.

Time constraints

Since these problems are multi-dimensional and often systemic, it is easy to get lost in analysis and research. Perfect will be the enemy of good and development will slow. Instead, throw a time constraint on the team - 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month - and this self-imposed deadline will create urgency and progress. Manufactured deadlines should be flexible and set with agreement from your team, but when the deadline hits, challenge them to move forward armed with the available knowledge and progress.

Focus

Solutions to wicked problems should not aim to eliminate the problem, but improve the situation. This can take the pressure off to make sure every detail is tied up with a bow before taking the next step. Accepting that every facet of the problem cannot be addressed at once also allows a team to select a focus area and, in early stages, the narrower the better. This does not mean ignoring anything outside your scope boundaries, but permits parts of the problem to fall away, even temporarily, making it smaller and more manageable. As the process moves forward, remember to constantly evaluate your selected focus area. Teams will learn many things when working wicked problems and considering a scope change when those lessons pop up will help drive to a testable, desirable solution.

Feedback

While the team directly working a wicked problem should be small and nimble, the feedback group should be wide and diverse. Create frequent and regular stopping points to elicit and evaluate feedback from customers, stakeholders and subject-matter experts. This is a critical part of solution development, but remember that feedback does not always equal direction. A team should have the authority to set aside input, as long as it has been recognized, evaluated and respectfully discarded with sound rationale.

There is an annual event here in Colorado that focuses on wicked problems in health. In June, this year's 10.10.10 event will gather 10 prospective CEOs for 10 days to tackle 10 wicked problems. They are still looking for event volunteers and prospective CEOs. It is a great opportunity to dive in and collaborate with other passionate professionals to take a problem-first approach.